Connex

Rail retail revolution puts stations back into heart of community
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date 23 October 2000
source Connex
type Press release

Connex Transport UK Ltd has reached agreement with Hachette Distribution Services and Groupe Elior to set up a joint venture company to develop joint retail and rail ticket outlets within the 400 railway stations operated by Connex in the south east.

Hachette Distribution Services (HDS) is a global leader in travel retail whilst Elior is a leader in the contracted food service sector with a particular strength in catering for the transport sector. Both companies operate outlets in airports, railway stations, motorways and museums across Europe and North America. HDS also operates stores located in 50 major international airports such as Paris, Madrid and New York, whilst Elior can be found as well at the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and many major French railway stations.

The deal could inject an additional £30 million investment into the Connex franchises over the next five years. Importantly, the contract covers stations as a whole, spreading the risk and rewards across the whole network. This means that prime locations will not be cherry picked at the expense of locations with much lower traffic and revenue potential. Instead, small and very small stations that would otherwise have not qualified for significant investment will now undergo major refurbishment programmes.

By setting up a joint venture Connex is able to concentrate on its core business of running rail services whilst retail and catering experts will help manage the retail side of the business and introduce modern standards of customer service. Additionally, through HDS's and Elior's management, the station transformation programme can be achieved on a far more rapid time scale than if Connex relied on their own resources or worked in partnership with Railtrack.

The joint venture will build on the success of Connex's pilot combined ticket and grocery outlets at Leatherhead and Cooden Beach stations. By supplementing the revenues from ticket sales with those from the convenience shops, Connex has been able to extend the station opening hours and increase staffing levels at the stations.

As well as allowing passengers to buy tickets, newspapers, snacks and groceries in one transaction, the shops also provide a service to the local community. For example, prior to the opening of the Cooden Beach shop, local residents had to travel more than a mile and a half to find a shop. In short, this scheme brings life to stations which otherwise would probably be doomed.

The new shops will be staffed by Connex personnel, yet they will be trained and managed by the joint venture. This will ensure that the shop staff are not only well trained in selling the right tickets and providing information about the rail network, but that they also benefit from learning best practice in modern retailing and customer service.

Hachette Distribution Services (HDS) and Elior will be using their expertise in building successful and relevant retail brands to create a unique offering for the Connex stations. They will also use the qualitative and quantitative customer research undertaken at the Leatherhead shop by Oxford Research on behalf of Connex . The formula will be flexible to meet the space available at individual stations and to match the profile of the passenger flow and the local community. Other facilities that are being considered are cash machines, cafes, dry cleaning and internet pick-up points.

Commenting on the joint venture Connex managing director, Olivier Brousse, said: We have shown with our pilot shops that railway stations can be transformed into an environment with the same standards and values as prime retail outlets. Our passengers should have a similar experience in travelling by rail as they do when they go shopping in modern outlets. This new investment in the station environment will be matched by our investment in new trains.

In just two to three years we will have modernised rail travel completely and significantly increased the level of staffing at stations. If our recently opened creches are also successful, I am confident that our stations will become the heart of their local community as they were 100 years ago, to the benefit of our customers, passengers and the rail industry as a whole.

Gilles Raillard, Executive Vice-President, International Development Travel Retail at HDS said.As the world leader in travel retail, we are able to offer a whole range of products and services to travellers in fourteen countries. By working with Connex and Elior we will be able to reach a critical mass in the UK retail market rapidly and capitalise on our expertise in running retail outlets in a transport environment.

Patrick De Muynck, head of corporate development at Elior added.In addition to our substantial contract catering activity in the UK, this joint venture will mean a significant boost to our concession catering activity which includeds the Wallace Collection, the Natural History Museum and our first motorway service areas to be opened shortly. We are delighted to have the opportunity of working with Connex and HDS on the development of a new retail transport brand.

NOTE

The results of research by the Oxford Research Agency into the Convenient Station at Leatherhead demonstrate significant customer benefits beyond the very important increase in overall sales and revenue, and the station is made more accessible, more friendly and secure.

In the research, forty five per cent of customers claim to feel safer using the station since the new shop opened particularly during quiet periods during the day; 66% thought that the station had a welcoming environment; 71% had a positive impression of the repair and upkeep of the station; 76% thought that it was easy to buy a ticket; and 88% gave the shop an overall positive rating, with 83 % thinking it an idea that should be adopted for other stations. The shop also enhanced Connex's reputation with 48% of customers believing that the company was introducing innovative ideas to improve service.

Railhub Archive ::: 2000-10-23 CON-001